Chapter 109: It Might Be Very Rough.

After listening to the recording, Carol felt her mind was in chaos and walked out of the house. She needed to calm down.

Her memory had fully returned, but the memories of the past and present were tangled together into a mess, and she couldn't even tell who she really was.

Was she Vers of the Kree Empire's Starforce? Or was she Carol Danvers, a human from Earth?

"He lied to me. Everything he told me was a lie."

That was the hardest part for Carol to accept. Yon-Rogg had been her respected mentor, her most trusted comrade, and there were even some ambiguous feelings mixed in.

Now, all of it had been destroyed.

"Do you understand now?" Talos asked.

"What? Understand what?"

"Yon-Rogg killed Mar-Vell, because Mar-Vell discovered it was an unjust war."

"No, your people are terrorists. The Skrulls slaughter innocent lives. I've seen the devastation on Torfa!"

…

…

"The Accuser fleet was the real culprit behind Torfa's destruction! The Skrulls were just seeking refuge there. We're refugees. The Skrulls were resisting Kree tyranny, and they destroyed our home planet for that. The few who survived soon faced extinction—unless… you help me fulfill Mar-Vell's wish. That energy core will power the light-speed engine ship and send us somewhere safe—somewhere the Kree can't find us." Talos suppressed his inner anger and explained patiently.

"Lawson always taught us…" Maria Rambeau interjected, recounting what their former mentor had taught them, "…the Pegasus Project was never meant to be a weapon of war, but a way to end war."

Seeing someone on his side, Talos pressed his advantage and continued to persuade: "She wanted you to help us find the energy core."

"But I already destroyed the energy core…"

"No! What you destroyed was only the engine. Mar-Vell hid the core in some remote place. If you help us decrypt the coordinates, we can find it…"

"And then what? Use it to destroy us?"

Facing Carol's continued suspicion, Talos could only shake his head helplessly.

"Hoo—ha—" He took a deep breath to calm himself and continued explaining, "We just want a home. You and I both lost everything because of the Kree. Don't you get it? You're not Kree. You're not one of them."

"…You don't understand me. You don't know who I am… I don't even know who I am!"

"You're Carol Danvers." Maria Rambeau walked over to console her. She wasn't trying to convince Carol to help the Skrulls—she just wanted her best friend to find herself again. "You're the woman in the black box recording, the one who risked her life to do the right thing. You're my best friend—not only did you support me being a mom, you were always pushing me to be a pilot…"

With each sentence, she got a little closer to Carol.

"…You're smart, funny, and sometimes super annoying. You're the strongest person I know—even without firepower, got it?"

As she spoke, both of their eyes welled up with tears, and in the end, they hugged tightly. At this moment, Carol finally accepted her past and embraced her identity as Carol Danvers, a human from Earth.

And with this, Carol agreed to help Talos decode the coordinates. Although she still couldn't completely trust him, the barrier between them had significantly lowered.

But at that very moment, a small spaceship suddenly landed on the front lawn. The hatch opened, and Yon-Rogg stepped out with Carol's former teammates.

"Hope I'm not too late. Hey, Vers, you've been skipping duty for long enough—it's time to return."

Carol frowned. She had no intention of obeying orders. Instead, she stood with Talos, Fury, and Coulson, energy glowing from her hands.

"You lied to me." Carol confronted him.

Yon-Rogg paused, inwardly alarmed—he had arrived too late. Carol had already recovered her memories, though he didn't know to what extent.

On the surface, he maintained his composure, putting on a heartbroken expression.

"Vers, I'm so disappointed in you. We fought side by side for six years. You carry my blood in your veins—remember? And now, you suspect me because of our enemy and a few strangers you've only known for a couple of days? Huh?"

In the past, Carol might have wavered, but now, she stood firm because she had realized who she was.

"You did the same thing back then. You're a great actor. But you lied to me. Will you deny it? You were the one who shot down my plane. You killed Lawson—my mentor and friend. Will you deny that?"

Hearing this, Yon-Rogg's expression turned cold—eerily calm.

"So, you've remembered everything?"

"That's right. I remember everything."

"Fine. I won't deny it. But so what? You're Vers now. One of us. I gave you a new life."

"No. I am Carol Danvers."

A flicker of sadness passed through Yon-Rogg's eyes. He knew Carol had truly become his enemy. He shook his head, drew his weapon, and fired a shot that knocked her out—it wasn't meant to kill, only stun.

The Supreme Intelligence had ordered him to find the hidden energy core Mar-Vell had stashed away, and Carol was the only lead.

"Get her on the ship. Kill the others." Yon-Rogg ordered.

Fury and the others rushed back inside to try and save Carol, but were pinned down by heavy fire and could only watch helplessly as she was taken.

"Carol!" Maria Rambeau tried to charge forward but was stopped by Fury.

"Don't be reckless. If you go now, you'll die for sure!"

"Let me go! My best friend finally came back after six years—I won't let her be taken again!"

"She's right, Fury! If they take her, it's not just us—Earth is finished too!" Talos added.

"But we don't have enough firepower…"

Bang—

Before he could finish, a blast of energy pierced the wall and grazed his ear, blasting through the house and trees behind.

"…See!"

"Didn't you say Sanctuary was powerful? Ask them for help!" Maria shouted while shielding her daughter.

"The Saints don't get involved in these kinds of things—unless Earth is on the brink of destruction. They only intervene when gods are involved."

"How do you know this?" Fury asked. He was a Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division agent, after all. How did an alien know something he didn't?

"You're just a level-three agent. I'm your superior." Talos said.

"Uh…" Fury felt insulted but couldn't refute it.

"Does this not count as Earth-ending? We're being invaded!" Coulson exclaimed, returning fire with his small pistol.

But a tiny-caliber pistol did nothing against their special combat suits—barely more than a tickle.

"It definitely counts! But I don't have a way to contact them!" Talos said, frustrated.

"Figure it out! They're getting closer!"

The enemy was almost upon them, and they had no means to fight back. Despair began to spread.

Luckily, hope never fails to arrive—sometimes, it's just late.

"Well, since you gave me such a good show, I'll help you out."

Everyone froze, searching for the unfamiliar voice. In the next instant, beams of golden light shot out, piercing through the advancing Kree.

Then, a figure clad in shining armor appeared behind them.

"Who are you?" Fury and Coulson aimed their guns at him.

"Weren't you just talking about me? I'm Garoun, Silver Saint of the Altar constellation."

"A Saint? From Sanctuary?! You've been following us?" Talos exclaimed.

"To be exact, I was following them." Garoun awkwardly scratched his face and pointed at Fury and Coulson.

Fury's face darkened further—going from hard-boiled to century egg levels of gloom.

He was a seasoned battlefield veteran, a retired colonel, and now a senior agent (albeit recently stuck in a desk job for six years). Yet someone had been tailing him all along and he hadn't noticed?

And Talos—who had been posing as his superior—hadn't noticed either!

So what if they had superpowers? So what if they were aliens? Just because they had abilities, did that mean they could do whatever they wanted!?

…Well, maybe they could.

Fury felt deflated. He was just a regular guy. If he ever ended up against them, how could he protect himself? A vague plan began to form in his mind.

But Talos interrupted his moment of insight.

"Thanks, but hurry and go save Carol—she's the key!"

"Don't worry. I know that. But…"

Mid-sentence, Garoun sidestepped as two photon blasts whizzed past his chest and blasted a hole through the house and trees.

"…she's back. Though not in a good state."

Everyone turned around and felt a chill—Carol was walking toward them, cloaked in photon energy and radiating killing intent. It was clear she hadn't escaped on her own.

"Damn! She's being controlled by the Supreme Intelligence!" Talos, who knew the Kree best, instantly recognized her state.

"Carol! Wake up!" Maria Rambeau tried to reach her with emotion, but Carol responded with a photon blast.

Garoun stepped in front of Maria and her daughter, opening an interdimensional portal to absorb the attack.

"You all step back. I'll wake her up," he said, back turned.

"What are you planning to do?" Fury asked. For some reason, the smile on Garoun's face sent chills down his spine.

"It might be a little rough."

Garoun raised an eyebrow, deepening Fury's unease. He was about to stop him.

"Wait—"

Carol was already charging at Garoun. But he simply raised his hands and softly said:

"Galaxian Explosion."